Excavating and conveying apparatus.



J. L. POTTER.

EXGAVATING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26, 1909. 970,750. Patented Sept. 20, 1910;

WITNESSES:

A [TURN/5y.

J. L. POTTER. EXOAVATING AND OONVEYIKG APPARATUS.

APPIJOHTION FILED 0013.26, 1909. 970,750. Patented Sept. 20, 1910.- I 6snnnTs-sfinn'r 2.

' IIATAORNJLY.

. J. L. POTTER.

EXGAVATING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.25, 1909.

970,750. A Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IVITNESSES: [.VVENTOR:

A TTORNEY.

J. L. POTTER.

EXGAVATING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED 001225, 1909.

970,750. A Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ATTORNEY.

J. L. POTTER.

EXOAVATING AND' CONVEYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILBD 001225, 1909.

970,750. Patented Sept. 20,1910.

5 BBEETE-BHBBT 5.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR: I 15W I ATTORNEY.

JOSEPH L. POTTER, .OF INDIANAI'OLIS, INDIANA.

EXCAVATING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

Application filed October 25, 1909. Serial No. 524,459.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. POTTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and 1 State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavatingand Conveying Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to portable apparatus for excavating or forhoisting and for conveying that which may be hoisted away from thehoisting apparatus, the invention having reference more particularly toapparatus for digging trenches and conveying the earth removed inexcavating either back into the trenches or elsewhere.

The object of the invent-ion is to provide --simple-and compactapparatus for hoisting and conveying that will be, capable of beingoperated by the least number of attendants possible in order to reducethe cost of operation to the minimum, another object being to provideimproved hoisting and conveying apparatus that will be adapted to bevariously modified in detail to suit different requirements inexcavating along predetermined lines, as for trenches or the like.

The inventlon conslsts in movable ho1sting apparatus comprising a car onwhich 1s mounted a derrlck-crane and also an en g ne, a movable trestle,a conveylng car mounted on the'itrestle and connections'loe-v tween thederrick-crane'and the conveying car for automatically controlling themovements of the conveying-car in harmony during 0 eration with thehoisting apparatus,

, where y the hoisted material may be automatically conveyed away andthe conveyingcar returnedto be reloaded; and the invention consistsfurther in the novel parts and combinations and arrangements of parts,as

hereinafter particularly described and then defined in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatusmodified for sewer excavations, portions of the trestle being brokenaway; Fig. 2, a topplan of a speed-reducing drum preferably employed onthe derrick-crane; Fig. 3, a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectionof the trestle and conveying car showing apparatus for automaticallydumping the load out of the car; Fig. 4, a topFplan of the apparatus asshown in Fig. 1; 1g. 5, a fragmentary vertical section on the hue A A inFig.1; Fig. 6 a fragmentar vertical section on the line F B in Fig. 5;ig. 7, a side elevation of the frame of the conveying-car; Fig. 8, afragmentary top plan of the frame of the conveying-car; Fig. 9, a frontelevation of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 omitting parts of thehoisting apparatus; Figs. IO-and l1, fragmentary sectional details ofthe apparatus for automatically dumping the loads from theconveying-car; Fig. 12, a front elevation of the apparatus modified forconveying elsewhere than back to the excavation, as when diggingtrenches that are'intended to remain open, parts of the hoistingapparatus being omitted; Fig. 13, a side elevation of the apparatusadapted to convey the hoisted material or earth to one side of the lineof excavation; Fig. 14, a top plan of the ap aratus as shown in thepreceding figure; ig. 15, a fragmentary lan showing a portion of theforward end 0 the engine car and a guide sheave mounted thereon; andFig. 16, a fragmentary detail of the. boom shown in Figs. 13 and 14.

In the different figures of the drawings corresponding referencecharacters indicate corresponding elements or features ofconstructionherein referred to. I

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates asection of the earth in which is a trench 2 having sheathing 3 as usualwhen relatively narrow excavations are made, there being stringers 4 and5 on the surface of the earth adjacent to the excavation, and cross-ties6 more remote from the excavation and supporting track-rails 7 and 8 onwhich the hoisting and conveying apparatus may be moved as theexcavating operations proceed. 4

A car 9 having wheels 10 and 10, 11, 11, is provided and mounted on therails, a suitable hoisting engine 12 being mounted on the car, theengine including two suitable hoisting drums 13 and 14. A derrick-craneis mounted also on the car and comprises two upright posts 15 and 16 onwhich is a .tiebeam 17, the posts being suitably braced to constitute anupright frame and serve as a mast on the upper portion of which a shaft18 is rotatably mounted. A speed-reducing drum is secured to the shaftand comprises a relatively large drum part 19 and. two

drum parts and 20 that are relatively smaller in diameter, as preferablyconstructed, and in some cases one of the smaller drum parts may bedispensed with.\ Motion is given to the drum in one direction by meansof a cable 21 that is partly wound about the drum part 19 and securedthereto 19 may serve the purpose of the two cables 21 and 21,the use ofthe term cables being relative, and any equivalent thereof may beemployed if desired for rotatively mov ing the speed-reducing drumpositively or without slippage. The derrick-crane comprises also a boomwhich preferably consists of two spars 22 and 22 suitably connectedtogether and pivotally mounted on a shaft 23 which is supported in asuitable'manner on the car 9 adjacent to the lower portion of theupright frame, a-gnide roller 24 being rotatably mounted also on theshaft, the shaft being horizontal and extending transversely of the car,so that the boom may move pivotally up or'down in the plane in which thetrench is tobe made. Two' cables 25 and 25 are connected to the free endof the boom and are secured to the smaller drum parts 20 and 20 to bewound thereon for raising the boom, one of the cables, however,permissibly being omitted if desired.

- The end portion of the boomsupports a pivot rod 26 on which a ham 27is mounted between its ends and between the two spars of the boom, oneend of the .beam having a suitable liftingv device mounted thereon whichpreferably is a scoop or shovel 28 that preferably has a drop bottom 29,the arrangement being such thatwhen theboom is lowered a scoop may becaused to drag against the earth and be filled on moving the boomupward. The beam 27 may be controlled by means that are connected to thebeam at opposite sides of its pivot and extend about the guide roller 24to the drum 14 to which they aresuitably connected, or the two cablesmay be av single cable or rope wound a few times around the drum 14 toprevent slippage, the ends of the cables or rope'beingconnected to-thebeam, as will be apparent, any; suitable guides desired or requiredbeing provided for guiding the cable or cables, the arrangement beingsuch that the position" of the beam relatively to the boom may becontrolled by the drum '14., i

of two cables 30 and 30 A movable trestle is provided that may bemodified to suit requirements or conditions, and when the earth from theexcavation is to be used to fill inthe trench'after building a sewerwall therein, the trestle extends longitudinally substantially from thederrickcrane along the line of the trench, the trestle being preferablyconnected to the engine-car and comprising stringers 31 and 32 supportedona transverse beam .33 which is provided with legs 34 and 34 mounted onwheels 35 and 35 respectively, the stringers having a suitable number ofintermediate supports comprising each a beam 36 and legs 37 and 37mounted on Wheels 38 and 38,

. the wheels of the trestle being mounted on the track rails 7 and 8. Apair of track rails 39 and40 are secured on thetops of the stringers 31and 32'for' guiding a conveying car which preferably comprises a frame41 having wheels 42 that are mounted on the rails 39 and 40, the carframe being provided with a suitable lug 43. The car in-,

cludes a body 44' provided with adrop bottom 45 which is supported on ahingerod 46 and normally held in closed positlon by a spring-catch 47with which the car body is provided. The'hinged end of the door has anarm or arms 48 secured thereto, each arm having a weight 49 thereon forbalancing the hinged bottom or closing the bottom after having beendropped by a load. In.

order, to automatically release the springcatch to permit the bottom 45to drop, a

guide. bar' 50 is fixedly supported on thetrestle and adjust-ablysupports a clamp 51 provided with binding screws 52, the clampsupporting a plate 53 on which a finger 54 is mounted by means of ahinge 55, the

finger having a rod 56 thereon that is provided with a stop deviceadapted to engage the under side of the plate 53 to prevent movement ofthe finger away from upright position in one direction, the finger beingmovable in the opposite direction or toward the engine car, anda spring58 is connected vto the rod 56 and also to the plate 53 for normallyholding the finger 54 in upright position in the path of thespring-catch47,

so that when the conveylng car moves outward from the engine car to thedesired position. for delivering its load into the trench, the sprin-catch will engage the finger 54 and be orced to release the drop bottom45 which will swing down at a suitable angle to discharge the load. Thespring-catch, of course, will slide over ,the

finger 54 if the car advances sufficientl and on return of the car thespring-catc will push the fin er 54 out of its way and then sitionby thespring 58. If from any cause the bot-tom'is not swung up entirely toclosed position by the counter weights, the door may be forced to closewhen brought into contact I the finger W1 1 be returned to it's normalpo- '65 '75 nd 76 are preferably connected toxends ported on thetrestle, and it will be apparent that if desired such inclined bar maybe I placed in the desired position to effect the closing ,of thebottom, in which case the counter weights may be dispensed with.

While it is apparent that .the trestle need not of necessity behorizontal it is preferably so constructed, and as will be seen theportion of the trestle adjacent to the derrick crane is open, so as topermit the boom and its lifting devices to operate between the two trackrails of the trestle. In order to move the conveying car a relativelylong distance, speedincreasing gearing is provided therefor comprisingpreferably a pulley 60 which is secured to the shaft 18, a shaft 61being suitably mounted on the car 9, and a. pulley 62 which is smallerin diameter than the pulley 60 is' secured to the shaft 61 and connectedby a belt 63 with the pulley 60. Another pul ey' 64 that is'relativelylarger in diameter than the pulley 62 is secured also to the shaft 61 orso mounted that it may be driven by the pulley 62. A guide pulley 65 ismounted on the end portion of the trestle and a cable 66 extends aboutthe pulley 64 and the pulley 65 and is secured to the lug 43 of theconveying car, so that the car will be moved when the boom is moved, andthe relative extent of movement of the conveying car may bepredetermined by calculation to ascertain the required relativediameters of the pulleys 60, 62 and 64, which as will be seen increasethe speed of the conveying car with respect to the speed at which theboom moves.

When it is desired-to dig a trench that is to remain open the apparatusis slightly modified, preferably as illustrated in Figs. 12 to 16'inclusivein which the posts 15 and 16' are mounted on the engine carsubstantially as above described and have a cap beam 17 secured to theupper parts thereof. The boom is mounted on t e engine car by means ofhinge rods 67 and 67 A pair of guide-sheaves 68 and 69 are mounted onthe beam 17 and -a cable 7 O is connected to the end portion of the boomand runs over the sheave 68 to. the drum 14 to which the cable isconnected for raising or lowering the boom, and a cable 71-is connectedto the drum 13 .andruns over the sheave 69 and also over a sheave 72that is mounted position. in order to elevate the loads re-- ceived fromthe hoisting device; The sills temporary rail 87 on which the wheels mayroll. A pair of track rails 88 and '89 are secured on the stringers 79and. 80 and support and guide a conveying car 90 provided with wheels 91that run on the rails, the car having a suitable drop bottom 92. A cable93 is connected to the outer end portion of the boom and runs over aguide sheave 94 thatis mounted on the beam 17', the cable extendingthence downward and under a guide sheave 95 that is rotatable on abracket 96 (Fig. 15) mounted on the engine car 9, the cable extendingthence about two guide. sheaves 97 and 98 that are mounted on the rail81 and thencebackw'ard to the car 90 to which the cable is connected sothat when the boom moves downward the conveying car will be drawnoutward by the connecting cable 93, and when the boom rises so as toslacken the cable it is evident that the conveying car will return downthe sloping trestle by the force of gravity, and therefore the conveyingcar is automatically controlled in its movements by the moving hoistingapparatus.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that automatic dumping of the car90 may be accomplished by various means such as above described, withoutrequiring a repetition of-the description of such appliances. It shouldbe explained also that the movable trestlev may be modified, so as toguide the conveying car in any desired direction other than thoseillustrated. And it will be apparent also that either specific form oftrestle may be employed with either one of the specific forms ofhoisting apparatus, and that various modifications in detail may be madewithin the scope of the accompanying claims.

In practical use the derrick-crane may be variously employed for loadingthe conveying car or for hoisting loads from the car, as will beapparent, and when employed in excavating operations the apparatus ismoved along the track rails as the work proceeds, and it will beunderstood that the shoveling or scooping devices are designed to bedrawn along the ground or in' the trenches toward the engine car-forfilling them and then lifted by meansof the en-.

gine drums and the derrick-crane to the required position above thetrestle on which the conveying car will stand at the predeterminedloading station to which the conveying car will advance during theupward movement of the boom; the load being then dumped'into theconveying car,

after which the boom when released will descend by gravity force anddraw the conveying car outward along the trestle to its dischargingstation or position, and it will be understood that when in some dasesthere may not be sufiicient weight on the boom to enable it to move theconveying car outward with its load, the hoisting engine may cooperateto assist in moving the conveying car outward, suitable provlslon beingmade distance overthetrench, so as to fill the trench with but onehandling of the earth taken therefrom.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is-

1. Hoisting and conveying apparatus including an engine-car, ahoisting-engine on the engine-car, an upright frame .on the en.-

gine-car, a trestle extending from the engine- 7 car, a horizontal pivotwith a stationary axis on the engine-car in proximity to the adjacentend of the trestle, a boom mounted on the engine-car with its endmovable upward above the adjacent end of the trestle,

a rotative guide on they upper portion of the frame, a cable connectedwith the hoistingengine' and coiiperating with the guide to ,move theboom, a'conveying-car movable on the trestle,'a guide-pulley on theengine-car in proximity to the pivot, a guide-pulley on the remote endportion of the trestle, a cable connected-to the conveying car andextending about the guide-pulleys to the rotative guide, the cable beingoperatively connected with the hoisting engine and actuated therebysimultaneously with the movement of the boom, and a liftingdevice'movably connected with the boom and guided thereby first towardand thence 'above the adjacent end of the trestle.

' ,cent end of the trestle in a vertical plane,

2. Excavating and conveying apparatus including an engine-car, .ahoisting-engine on the engine car, anupright frameon the engine-car, atrestle extending from the engine-car, a boom pivotally supported on theengine-car in proximity to the trestle and the bottom of the frame withits free end movable upward above the adjaa; conveying-car movable onthe trestle, "a rotative guide on the upper portion of -the frame,hoisting means connected operatively with the ,hoistin'g-engineand themoving the boom, a draft-cable connected device connected movably withthe boom. and guided thereby toward and above the adjacent end of'thetrestle, with compound gearing mounted on the engine-car and havingoperative connection with the cable 3. Excavating and conveyingapparatus in cluding an engine-car, a winding-drum and tle extendingfrom'the engine-car, a boom pivotally supported on the engine-car inproximity to'the trestle and the bottom of the frame with its free endmovable upward mounted on the upper portion of the upright frame, alarge drum mounted on the shaft driven by the large drum, a cable connected. to the smaller drum and also to the boom, a conveying carmovable on the trestle, a gear pulley on the shaft and driven bythelarge drum, a rotative guide mounted on the engine-car in proximity tothe bot tom of the upright frame, a guide sheave on the remote portionof the trestle,.-powertransmission means having operative connectionwith the rotative guide and the sheave and connecting the conveying carwith the gear pulley, and an excavating device guided by the boom.

4.. xcavating and conveying apparatus including an engine-car, awinding-drum and an upright frame on the engine-car, atrestle extendingfrom the engine-car, a boom pivvating t leviee guided by the boom, ashaft the uprightframe, a hoistin cable operatively connected with thewin ing-drum and the boom, a cable-drum secured to the shaft and engagedby the cable forrotating' the shaft, a gear wheel secured to the shaft,a countershaft mounted on the engine-car in proximity to the lowerportion of the upcountershaft, a sheave on the remote portion of thetrestle, a conveying car movable on the trestle, a draft cable incontact with the vsheave and connected with the conveying car and thespeed-increa'. "c.g pulley, and driving gearing connecting the gearwheel the draft cable faster than the hoisting cable. j Y

5. In excavating and conveying apparatus, the combination of anengine-car, a winding-drum on the engine-car, a boom pivoted on theengine-car to move vertically, a-trestle, and a conveying-car movable onboom and cooperating with the guide for hoisting-engine and the boom andthe draftan upright frame on the engine-car, a tres-,

shaft, a cable connected with the winding,, drum and the large drumfor'operating the drum, a relatively smaller drum .on the right frame,a'speed-increasing pulley on the i to the conveying-car, and anexcavating above the adjacent end of the trestle, a shaft otallysupported on the engine-car, an excamounted rotatively on the upperportion of with the speeddncreasing pulley fordriving ed with theconveying-car and also opera-' tively with the winding-drum and theboom, for moving the conveying-car relatively farther than the boomslmultaneously with the movement of the winding-drum.

6. In excavating and conveying apparatus, the combination of anenglne-car, a winding-drum on the engine-car," an upright frame on theengine-car, a boom ivotally supported on the engine-car, a hoistingcable operatively connected with the boom and the winding-drum, atrestle, a conveying car movable on the trestle, a speed-increasingpulley mounted rotatively on the en ine-car at the lower portion of theupright rame, a relatively small wheel connected to the pulley, a sheavemounted on the trestle, a cable guided on the sheave and connected tothe conveying car and with the pulley, and power-transmitting means 0eratively connefiing the small Wheel wit the hoistingca e.

7. In excavating and conveying apparatus, the combination of anengine-car, an upright frame and a winding-drum on the engine-car, aboom pivoted on the engine- 'car, a trestle, a sheave mounted on thetrestle, a conveying car movable on the trestle, a drum-shaft mountedrbtatively on the uper portion of the upright frame, a large drum and arelatively smaller drum and also a gear pulley secured to thedrum-shaft, aca 1e connected with the winding-drum and the large drum, acable connected with the boom and the small drum, a countershaft mountedon the lower portion of the upright frame, a large pulley and arelatively small pulley on the countershaft and connected together, atransmission belt connecting the small pulley with the gear pulley, anda cable in contact with the sheave and connected with the large pulleyand the conveying car.

In testimon whereof, I aflix my signature in presence ot two witnesses.M

JOSEPH L. POTTER.

Witnesses:

HARRY D. Pmnson, E. T. Smvms.

